Birthday Girl!

Today Amanda turned 2!!! I can't believe it. We had a wonderful day! Here is a picture of the birthday girl in one of her favorite places... a box!

Amanda asked me a few days ago for a Strawberry Shortcake cake. I went online only to find that the pans were discontinued. Bummer! I was planning to try to free-hand something. We had family in town and on Monday I took Amanda for a ride so that I could try to get her to fall asleep. We went to Michael's a little further out and just as I was about to leave the cake area (there were no signs of the pan I was looking for) I put my hand on a random pan and pulled it out. Would you believe it! The discontinued pan!! It was meant to be. You know how I know? Not only was it there, it was on clearance for $4.99!!! yes, anyone who uses these kinds of pans knows what a deal that is! I bought it - even though I forget my coupon. I used my coupon on Wednesday for the icing colors and tips that I needed - 20% of entire purchase! AND, all the Wilton things were on sale already for 25% off. What a deal on everything! Abi helped make a batch of icing on Wednesday night and I iced it after the girls went to bed. It has been quite a while since I have done one f these kinds of cakes, but here she is. Strawberry Shortcake!

We started the day out with a couple of gifts. Abi had a hard time with the realization that none of the gifts were for her, but she survived. Especially when she discovered she could also use them.

After our run for diapers (some things can't wait, even for birthdays), we went to Panera to get a little treat with Mema! Abi was there too, but didn't want to have her picture taken. She didn't sit still long enough :-)

After we got back home, I blew up the pool/water slide that Amanda got and we had a picnic outside while the girls had a blast discovering all that they could do in and with the new pool! Of course the slide into the water was the highlight. Abi went down face-first a couple of times, but she held her breath and when she came up and realized it and we gave her kudos, she giggled and thought it was great! Confidence building for the big pool. Love it!

Amanda has no fear of the water and couldn't push Abi out of the way fast enough! And Abi totally threw out an enormous word in context while playing with all of this today!!! She pulled one of the yellow rings and placed it on a yellow "knob" and a red ring on a red "knob" and said, "The are camouflaged!" I looked over and said, "That's right! They match and look like they are hiding, so the ARE camouflaged!" Obviously, she already knew the explanation, but I felt like I needed to say it because it was such a huge word!

Casual birthday dinner out on the patio. They wanted to sit on the wall, so I took their little table out so they could eat with the birds... literally.

Daddy had a crazy busy day of work, but he was able to sneak home for cake! Yeah!!

And she blows out her candles. She had such a great time and really took everything in. Every time her hat fell off she was trying to put it back on. This is a girl who HATES to have anything on her head. She knew this day was about her and was so excited to have a party hat!

Cake and ice cream, down the hatch! After dessert we went back outside to play in the new pool before bedtime. So much fun! I think the girls will sleep well tonight. I managed to get Amanda down for a nap, but not Abi. She should sleep well tonight :-)

After bath time, they had snuggle time with Mema. What a great end to the day...

So today we celebrate the blessing of Amanda. We flipped through pictures a few days ago. I know people say this all the time, but it really is strange how fast the time goes. Makes you realize all over again how important it is to take in every moment. She came into the world a tiny little peanut - 5 pounds 6 ounces and only 17 inches long. Now she is tall yet still lean. And boy does she have a lot of energy and silliness! She is a ham and we so enjoy what she brings out in all of us. She is a bundle of sugar! Happy Birthday, sweet girl. We love you!!!

All our love,

Mommy, Daddy and Abigail